Ik las deze tweede encycliek tegen de achtergrond van het bestaan van
vele minderbedeelden in onze samenleving, en hun recht op hoop
als "vrije kinderen van God", ongeacht hun ras, kleur, af- of herkomst, & c.

Drie A-viertjes met "highlights" hechtte ik aan; het vetgedrukte gedeelte waarvan ik hieronder letterlijk weergeef vanwege de immanente importantie voor een land in wording.

Berend : :

24. Freedom presupposes that in fundamental decisions, every person and every generation is a new beginning.

/a/) The right state of human affairs, the moral well-being of the world can never be guaranteed simply through structures alone, however good they are. Such structures are not only important, but necessary; yet they cannot and must not marginalize human freedom. Even the best structures function only when the community is animated by convictions capable of motivating people to assent freely to the social order.

Freedom requires conviction; conviction does not exist on its own, but must always be gained anew by the community.

/b/) Since man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last for ever is making a false promise; he is overlooking human freedom. Freedom must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Free assent to the good never exists simply by itself. If there were structures which could irrevocably guarantee a determined—good—state of the world, man's freedom would be denied, and hence they would not be good structures at all.